Making a linnen wrap more stickier - any tricks?

[Newton]

I have a customer which just receives a $1100 cue and want's me to remove
the linnen and put on a leather or rubber "sports" grip.

The cue is one of 5 made and I feel really bad cutting this apart and alter
the design. The customer don't even want to try the cue (he has not received it
yet, I have it in my possession) before he tasks me to do this mod and I was
just wondering :

Is there any one which would like to share a potential trick to get the linnen a
little more sticky from day 1? Is there any treatment we can do to remove the
"slippy feeling" ?

PM in case you would not like to post the procedure.

Thanks
Kent

 

[PoorBoy B]

maybe you can lightly sand the wrap with some 320 fine? that should lift the fibers in the linen.

 

[macguy]

I have a customer which just receives a $1100 cue and want's me to remove
the linnen and put on a leather or rubber "sports" grip.

The cue is one of 5 made and I feel really bad cutting this apart and alter
the design. The customer don't even want to try the cue (he has not received it
yet, I have it in my possession) before he tasks me to do this mod and I was
just wondering :

Is there any one which would like to share a potential trick to get the linnen a
little more sticky from day 1? Is there any treatment we can do to remove the
"slippy feeling" ?

PM in case you would not like to post the procedure.

Thanks
Kent

One harmless thing you can try is to apply a little Butchers wax to the wrap then buff it. It make the wrap a little tacky to the feel. I know a guy who applies it every time before he plays and even sometimes during play.

 

[Newton]

Thanks both for the replies.

Poorboy: Sanding this I think is not a good idea. I have added a pic of this
cue and it is used a black version which I honestly have to say looks thicker
than the linnen I use.
But sanding this would most likely make the whole thing look gray so I think this is a no-go

Macguy: This might be a option. The owner is so eager to get the cue so I
discuss with him if this is something he would like to try. At the moment
I don't have "Butchers wax" in my arsenal but I might have a go with normal
cue wax.

Thanks

Kent

 

[TellsItLikeItIs]

Is there any one which would like to share a potential trick to get the linnen a
little more sticky from day 1? Is there any treatment we can do to remove the
"slippy feeling" ?
Kent

Try Rose Water & Glycerin. In the US its available in Pharmacies. Dont know about your country.

Just rub a little on your hands like washing your hands. Works for me.

 

[Newton]

Try Rose Water & Glycerin. In the US its available in Pharmacies. Dont know about your country.

Just rub a little on your hands like washing your hands. Works for me.

Thanks for the tip.
I think the owner is looking for something to make the wrap better to hold
and potentially compensate that way.
We have a thing over here which is called "handball" where they run like
.... a lot and pass the ball with their hands. These girls has a sticky thing
for their hands on spray cans

Kent

 

[GBCues]

A while back I asked a similar question - I asked how to make my linen wrap "fluffier", which is another way to say "stickier" (at least in my mind). It was suggested to have a cuemaker re-wrap the linen, but not press it ahead of time.

Hope this helps,

Gary

 

[scdiveteam]

Hi,

After pressing, lightly sand with 600 grit, then apply Mohawk Rapid Pads French Furniture Polish with a paper towel. Take a 3 x 5 index card and burnish at high speed.

This will give your the results you desire. It's better to put it on lightly several times and burnish it each time. If you put it on too thick you can saturate the linen and it make the light wraps get a little darker.

Rick Geschrey

 

[patrickcues]

I have a customer which just receives a $1100 cue and want's me to remove
the linnen and put on a leather or rubber "sports" grip.

The cue is one of 5 made and I feel really bad cutting this apart and alter
the design. The customer don't even want to try the cue (he has not received it
yet, I have it in my possession) before he tasks me to do this mod and I was
just wondering :

Is there any one which would like to share a potential trick to get the linnen a
little more sticky from day 1? Is there any treatment we can do to remove the
"slippy feeling" ?

PM in case you would not like to post the procedure.

Thanks
Kent

Kent:

Here is what I have found that works good for me. Take some Clear Coat and mix it 75% Clear to 25% thinner. Apply it to the wrap. It will take 2 coats or so to do what your looking for. But it works!!!!

 

[Newton]

Thanks all for the feedback.

I have talked to the new owner and we have agreed that he should try it
first and see how it feels. Since I'm over here I have not easy access to
some of the products mentioned here, but I would start looking.

Kent

 

[McChen]

i just apply some sanding sealer to a paper towel and wipe it on the wrap. you can use a thinner or thicker sealer, or more or less coats to get the feel you want. also keeps the wrap nice and clean. works great!

 

[Monk Slayer]

Hello, I'm in no way a cue maker or very knowledgable compared others in this forum, with that said, I like to add that is beautiful cue there, and it would be a shame to make any mods to it, imo. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned. Wouldn't making it 'sticky' increase the likelyhood of attracting dirt and thus devaluing the cue a bit?

 

[Newton]

... I like to add that is beautiful cue there, and it would be a shame to make any mods to it, imo. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned. Wouldn't making it 'sticky' increase the likelyhood of attracting dirt and thus devaluing the cue a bit?

I have the same feeling about the cue.
This is 1 of 5 made and I feel bad altering it...
Regarding sticky, the idea is only to get a little more grip to it, not sticky like
chewing gum but a subtle increase in grip. The owner is not fund of the slippy
feeling some grips gives and thats the reason.

K

 

[poolplayer2093]

i hear wax paper works. just rub it on the wrap until it's not as slick

 

[Fastolfe]

I personally hate linen wraps, and I'm not too keen on leather either. They are just too slippery for me. So I add one of these to all my cues (funnily enough, I can't seem to find them at the usual online stores). Rubber grip sleeves provide plenty of grip, and attract dust and grime instead of the linen, protecting the cue's finish. When it's used up, I change it, something harder to do with a linen wrap.

If your customer isn't too fussy about how the grip area looks, you could sell him on the idea of installing one of these things (cut to size, matching color) and tell him it'll protect his pride and joy and solve his grip problem at the same time.

 

[skip]

You can find the rubber sleeves in Mullers catolog an maybe on-line there.

 

[Newton]

I personally hate linen wraps, and I'm not too keen on leather either. They are just too slippery for me. So I add one of these to all my cues (funnily enough, I can't seem to find them at the usual online stores). Rubber grip sleeves provide plenty of grip, and attract dust and grime instead of the linen, protecting the cue's finish. When it's used up, I change it, something harder to do with a linen wrap.

If your customer isn't too fussy about how the grip area looks, you could sell him on the idea of installing one of these things (cut to size, matching color) and tell him it'll protect his pride and joy and solve his grip problem at the same time.

I'm with you on the linnen - totally not my taste... Way to slippery so I have
been a leather wrap man my self.
Funny you mentioned the rubber grip, it's something I'm carrying and is a option
I have mentioned to him. However the "sports grip" is most likely not as
thick as the linnen so the grove for the wrap might be to deep. So in a
effect it could make a hight difference compared to the clear coat edge.
This is the reason why I did not immediately installed it and wanted the customer
to try it out.

I did a test just now with shaft sealer and cue wax and it makes it a little more
grip to it. Just to try I did it on my own cue and I would shoot down the pool
hall tonight and see how it works out. At first test it seems like heat in my
hands is causing this solution to work - but that was just in the workshop.

Many players have tried holding to a Lucasi Hybrid cue and loves the feeling
this grip gives. However - as you mentioned - this is not as easy to change
due to the fact that they are crimped on (with a normal "leather seem" along
the grip) at the factory.

One thing I have been looking for is the feel the cheap Balabushka look a likes gives.
I have one of these and the grip is linnen but it's almost like the linnen
is sealed with almost "rubber like" surface... Have no idea what it is.

I would test the clearcoat trick Patric Cues mentioned.

Thanks

Kent

 

[tableman]

Without a doubt I would either 1) just use a good coat of regular cue wax and just buff it back off or 2) the sanding sealer carefully applied. I recommend the wax though. The sealer could get through to your glue and cause it to turn loose. Wax does great for me and makes the wrap look nice too.

 

[JerseyBill]

In the old days we used to use wax paper.

 

[Newton]

Without a doubt I would either 1) just use a good coat of regular cue wax and just buff it back off or 2) the sanding sealer carefully applied. I recommend the wax though. The sealer could get through to your glue and cause it to turn loose. Wax does great for me and makes the wrap look nice too.

Tableman:
I've tried both and they did not turn out to be any better. At first when you
applied the cue wax it might feel a little stickier. However when I picked it up
some hours lather it seemed as slick as usual.

I tried also the sealer I have and this made the whole thing very shiny and not
much more stickier. That was however after i took a paper towel and removed
to excess.

Wax paper is something I don't think we have over here. We have baking
paper and some other "paper" but I think non of them is very waxy.
I would double check today.

Thanks
Kent